Warehouse Fumes in Lincoln Heights Send 17 to Hospital

LINCOLN HEIGHTS - Fumes sickened eighteen workers at a massive Lincoln Heights warehouse operated by a fashion retailer on Sunday morning, sending seventeen to the hospital for non-life threatening illness.

The Los Angeles Fire Department was initially summoned at 9:53 AM on November 4, 2012 to investigate one person ill at the 'Forever 21' distribution center, located at 3880 North Mission Road in Lincoln Heights.

Learning that a foul odor within the expansive complex may have caused the one woman to take ill - and others to experience sudden malaise, the first arriving LAFD crew escalated the incident to a hazardous materials investigation, ultimately bringing 102 Fire Department responders, including an LAFD Hazardous Materials Task Force, to assist the scores of employees working in the nearly 2 million square foot warehouse and adjoining offices.

Establishing a command post uphill and upwind of the business, Battalion Chief Al Ward coordinated the prompt effort to assist the ill and identify the source of the irritating odor.

Though the vast majority of a hundred-or-more workers were without symptoms, LAFD Paramedics quickly triaged employees to isolate eighteen experiencing headache, nausea and vomiting. Of the 18, one declined further medical care, and was released at the scene. The remaining seventeen were taken by Fire Department ambulance to regional hospitals in good to fair condition. No other injuries were reported.

LAFD Hazardous Materials experts, fully clad in protective gear, soon determined a concern verbalized by workers of a "cleaning solution" placed in a dumpster not to be the irritant.

Using sophisticated handheld sensors and hazardous product identification tools, the well-trained LAFD HazMat Team continued a meticulous search of the premises to determine that fumes from an earlier roof repair involving adhesives, as well as vapor from spray painting of a large basement area, were drawn into the building's ventilation system, causing the sudden odor sensed by distant employees.

Pursuant of protocol, LAFD requested the County of Los Angeles Fire Department Health Hazardous Materials Division to conclude the investigation and formally declare the industrial building fit to be reoccupied.

Dispatched Units: E47 RA1 RA2 E17 E221 E21 T21 SQ21 EM1 BC2 E12 RA21 RA17 RA12 RA844 RA25 RA804 RA4 RA3 RA209 EM11 EM13 BC11 RA9 EA1 DC1 E2 E201 T1 E15 T10 E210 BC1 E202 T2 BC5 BC18 RA821 RA47 RA15 RA20 CM3 T15 E215

Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

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100 Foot Geyser in Residential Neighborhood Displaces Family

At 6:11 pm this evening, your Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a reported "hydrant" at the residential intersection of North Edloft Avenue and East Twining Street in the neighborhood of El Sereno. First arriving units were guided to the scene by water being shot approximately 100 feet into the air from a high pressure fire hydrant. The hydrant had been sheared-off by a vehicle, whose driver had apparently lost control. The driver was treated and transported to a local hospital for observation.

Mass amounts of water then began to shower surrounding homes and fill the streets. Access to the hydrant shut-off valve was made difficult to Firefighters not only because they had to endure heavy water, but also due to the large, water-main shut-off valve being located deeper underground than what standard tools on our fire apparatus are capable of accessing. This particular hydrant shut-off valve required specialized tools available only to our partners at the Department of Water & Power (DWP).



As water continued to flow for nearly two hours, approximately 50 Firefighters quickly poured on-scene to assist, along with our specialized Urban Search & Rescue unit and our Heavy Rescue squad. The water flow initially prompted the Incident Commander (IC), Battalion Chief Kevin Pearson, to protect the residents of three homes in the area by sheltering them in place. When it became apparent this would be an extended incident, the IC, under the guidance of Assistant Chief Daryl Arbuthnott, made the decision to evacuate these structures to ensure their safety.

When the hydrant was ultimately shut-down, representatives from the Department of Building & Safety quickly moved in to assess and determined the homes had sustained minimal, structural damage. However, a retaining wall at the rear of one of the structures was severely compromised. As a result, one family was unfortunately displaced for at least that evening. The family was assisted by our friends at the local Red Cross.

We are pleased to report there were no additional injuries to any of the families impacted nor to any of our on-scene personnel.

The cause is under investigation and the dollar loss is still being tabulated.


Submitted by Matt Spence, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

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